The US and British military have launched a new round of strikes against them The Houthis are targeting Yemeni defense officials said Monday.
The strikes, carried out by piloted aircraft and ships, were the second round of strikes by the two military forces on Houthi positions in Yemen. The last round was on January 11. Since then, the US has single-handedly struck several Houthi targets to prevent the group from attacking ships in the Red Sea.
US Central Command said in a statement that the latest operation, backed by Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands, struck eight Houthi sites in Yemen and was “used to attack international merchant ships and US Navy ships in the region”.
According to the report, the targets were missile systems and launchers, air defense systems, radars and deep-buried weapons depots.
“These strikes are aimed at degrading the ability of the Houthis to continue their reckless and illegal attacks against US and UK ships, as well as international merchant ships, in the Red Sea, the Bab Al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden,” the statement added.
The Iran-backed Houthis control large swaths of Yemen. organized dozens of attacks against merchant ships and warships in the Red Sea in recent months. The group says the strikes are in response to Israel’s bombing of Gaza after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7.
The violence has fueled fears that the conflict in Israel could escalate into a regional war.
The US renamed the Houthis last week is a terrorist organizationa move designed to cut off funding to the rebel group.
Shortly after taking office, the Biden administration removed the group from the US terrorist list to ease the flow of food, medicine and other aid to conflict-torn Yemen.